Ich mache eine Karrierepause … an der Front in der Ukraine

There is a surreal aspect to [Ukraine](https://inews.co.uk/topic/ukraine?ico=in-line_link)‘s wartime capital. Missiles threaten the city’s heat and power, as well [as the lives of its citizens](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/hope-wont-die-what-like-live-putins-blitz-kyiv-4062797?ico=in-line_link), and yet it seems that Kyiv mostly carries on as normal. Sunday evening jazz plays on rooftops, women have immaculate nails and outfits and bookshops host panel discussions and serve flat white coffees.

The city is also home to a community of non-Ukrainians [volunteers](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/on-road-ukraine-volunteers-supplies-frontline-fighters-2106245?ico=in-line_link), who came to the country to help it survive [Russia’s full-scale invasion](https://inews.co.uk/topic/russia-ukraine-war?ico=in-line_link). Some make camouflage netting, others serve in the military, while others work on rebuilding after Russian air strikes.

Bryan Junor, 57, has been doing restoration work in Kyiv but is en route to [Sumy](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/russia-preparing-new-ground-invasion-ukraine-zelensky-3586960?ico=in-line_link), a city in northeastern Ukraine that has seen regular fighting and missile attacks. With more than forty years of electrical experience and his own business in Wales, he’s going to help repair several Ukrainian manufacturing facilities.

“My specialty is in resurrecting damaged electrical systems in factories,” he told *The i Paper,* adding that in practical terms it matters little if damage is caused by a forklift going into a transformer or a Russian drone attack.

Junor wants to encourage others with his skills to volunteer, which are particularly useful “right here, right now”, he said.

Jayden Evans is in his twenties, from Australia, and wanted to volunteer since the start of the conflict in 2022, but a gap between jobs finally allowed him the freedom and resources to do so. “It seemed wrong of me not to go since I grew to care so much,” he told *The i Paper*.

He goes back to Australia at the end of January but hopes to return. “I want to help more with reconstruction, especially near the front, where so much has simply been destroyed.”